Combination box toe and heel seat steamer



March 30, 1937. 'J. s. FRANKLIN ET AL 2,075,434

COMBINATION BOX TOE AND HEEL SEAT STEAMER Original Filed Aug. 6, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet l Attorney March 30, 1937. J. s. FRANKLIN ET AL I 2,075,434

' COMBINATION BOX TOE AND HEEL SEAT 'STEAMER Original Filed Aug. 6, 1954 s Sheets-Sheet-Z 26 z: I. 7 a x 24 I 4540 42 4% 0. *4, O a 0 L K fi Inventors March 30, 1937. J. s. FRANKLIN ET AL COMBINATION BOX TOE AND HEEL SEAT STEAMER Origifial Filed Aug. 6, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Attorney Patented Mar. 30, 1 937 PATENT OFFICE COMBINATION BOX TOE AND HEEL SEAT STEAMER Joseph Smith Franklin and Leslie It. Gilmore, Huntington, W. Va.

Application August 6, 1934, Serial No. 738,746 Renewed November 18, 1936 3 Claims.

This invention appertains to new and useful improvements in shoe steamers and is a continuation in part of my co-pending application Serial No. 671,753, filed May 18, 1933.

5 The principal object of the present invention is to provide a combination box toe and heel seat steamer of simple construction and which, in use, will efficiently serve its purpose without causing frequent damage to the work, necessitating disguise treatment, which practice is compelled by the use of the majority of steamers now on the market.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a box toe steamer wherein steam is and air are delivered to the side of the toe in such a. manner as to merely contact that portion which should be treated, without scorching the insole or discoloring the top portion of the toe.

Another important object of the present inven- 90 tion is to provide a toe steamer which can be readily adjusted to control the steam application or high or low toe construction.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a combination box toe and 05 heel seat steamer wherein the heel seat steamer.

can be adjusted in the proper respect to the toe steamer so as to accommodate shoes of all sizes and shoes of all heel variance.

These and various other important objects of the invention will become apparent to the reader of the following specification.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevational view of the a paratus.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the apparatus showing the toe steamer in horizontal section.

Figure i is a vertical sectional view through the apparatus, showing in broken line a shoe being treated.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the toe steamer with the draft controlling assembly in place.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary top plan view of the toe steamer with the draft controlling assembly detached.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the adjusting means for the heel steamer.

Referring to the drawings wherein like numerals designate like parts, it can be seen that numeral 5 represents a base having the standard 8 thereon and this standard 6 has of course the elongated casing I constituting a part of the box toe steamer generally referred to by numeral 8, Figure 2. The heel seat steamer is generally referred to by numeral 9, Figure 4, and is supported by the casing 1.

As is apparent in Figures 3 and 4, the front wall 5 of the casing 1 is provided with a pluralityof cut outs, depending upon the number of shoes to be treated at one time, and into these cut outs extend the box toe receiving shells Ill, eachof which is provided with'an outwardly disposed flange H at its front which is secured to the adjacent side of the casing I by screwsl2. As is clearly shown in Figures 1 and 6, each of these shells I Gnarrows towards its top and terminates in an elongated opening l3 (see Figure 6). Furthermore; at the top of the shell III a flange I4 is provided which is secured to the top of the casing I by screws l5. Thus the shell is firmly secured to the casing.

As is clearly apparent in Figures 3 and 4, the bottom of each shell I!) is provided with an inwardly extending pocket It, which will afford a channelway for air to rise when a shoe is being treated, as shown in Figure 4. The presence of the pocket It in the shell accounts for the ledge ll upon which the stock is rested.

Each shell ID has the side walls thereof immediately above the ledge I! provided with perforations 18 (Figure 4), the back wall of the same being provided with perforations I9. 30

In the case of condensation in the shell, as when the steam is turned on too suddenly when the metal of the apparatus is cold, as when beginning work with the apparatus, the resulting water will drain off through the tube 20, which termi-,

nates at its lower end in very close proximity to the bottom of the casing l as shown in Figure 4. Numeral 2| represents the steam supply pipe which extends into the casing and is perforated to emit its steam contents. 7 40 The tops of the shells ID are provided with swingable closure plates 22, each swingably supported on a pivot member 23 at one corner thereof. Each of the plates 22 is provided with an ear member 24 which is connected by a pivot member 25 to the connecting rod 26. In this manner, all of the plates 22 are connected so that the adjustment of one will account for the corresponding adjustment of the others. Each of the closure plates 22 is provided with an upstanding upwardly flaring stack 21 which also serves as a continuous handle for actuating the closure plates 22 and obviously these stacks serve effectively to cause a draft through the shells and corresponding pockets Hll6.

At this point, it should be understood that the object in having the pockets l6 under the work and the steam emitting openings in the side walls of the shells is to cause a direct application of steam to only that portion of the stock requiring treatment. By referring to Figure 4, it can be seen that when steam is first turned on, the apparatus is allowed to heat up some so that after the initial period of condensation takes place, which is surely apt to happen with the steam coming in contact with the cold metal, it will be found that a draft is created vertically through the shell with air mixing with the steam at a point immediately above the pocket.

With a box toe structure placed on the ledge H, the rising air in the pocket I6 will issue around the edge of the stock and, besides maintaining the insole cool, will converge with the steam at the side of the box toe and permit the steam to just contact this portion of the toe before it is caused to rise and follow the line of draft. This is an important factor in that the steam is thus prevented from scorching the leather and especially prevented from contacting the entire toe and causing discoloration of the top portion thereof.

In the case of high toes, it is desired to bring the steam up on the toe stock somewhat and this can be regulated minutely for all heights of toes, by adjusting the area of the aperture which leads from the treating chamber to the stack, by regulating the plates 22.

The heel seat steamer 9 consists of an elongated casing 25 having a perforated steam pipe 38 extending into the same through one end thereof. The top of this seat 29 is concave and denoted by numeral 3! For each of the box toe receiving shells if there is an imperforate design generally referred to by numeral 32 in the concave top 3| of the casing 29. As is apparent in Figure 3, it can be seen that there is a continuous row 33 defining the outline of a heel, while inwardly of the ends of thisirow the top 3| is provided with several additional openings 34. At the points on the top 35 where the nose portions of the heel will be located, several short rows of openings 35 are provided. Thus it can be seen that the heel will be steam treated at the precise point required.

To permit adjustment of the heel seat steamer 9, (Figure 2), each end of the casing l is provided with a pair of outstanding bolts 3536 which extend through slots 3'|3l (Figure 7) in a vertical slide bar 38 which is provided with an apertured lug 39 thereon for receiving the rod 40. Wing nuts 4! are provided on the bolts 36 so that the bar 38 can be secured in adjusted position against the end of the casing I. A guide member 42 is provided on each end of the casing 1 to receive the corresponding rod 40, which rod extends through collars 43-43 on the corresponding end of the heel steamer casing 29. The collars 43 are provided with set screws 44 which can be tightened against the corresponding rod 40.

A wooden or heat insulating handle 45 (Figure l) is fixed between two members 4646 projecting outwardly from the casing 29, sothat by loosening the nuts 4|, the handle 45 can be gripped to adjust the heel steamer 9 to the desired position.

While the foregoing specification sets forth the invention in specific terms, it can be seen that numerous changes in the shape, size, and materials may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed hereinafter,

What is claimed is:

1. A box toe steamer comprising a steam chamber, an open front shell extending into the chamber including a bottom and side walls, an air pocket in the bottom of the shell, and steamemitting openings in the side walls of the shell immediately abovethe said bottom, said shell being open at the top thereof and provided with a closure which can be gradually moved over th top of the shell to cause the steam to travel toward the front of the shell in escaping.

2. A box toe steamer comprising a steam chamber, an open front shell extending into the chamber and including bottom and side walls, an air pocket in the bottom of the shell, said air pocket and bottom of the shell merging to define a shoe supporting shoulder, steam emitting openings in the side walls of the said shell immediately above the said shoulder, said shell being open at the top thereof and provided with a closure which can be gradually moved over the top of the shell to cause steam to travel toward the front of the shell and escape it.

3. A box toe steamer comprising a steam chamber, an open front shell extending into the chamber and including bottom and side walls, an air pocket in the bottom of the shell, said air pocket and bottom of the shell merging to define a shoe supporting shoulder, steam emitting openings in the side walls of the said shell immediately above the said shoulder, said shell being open at the top thereof and provided with a closure which can be gradually moved over the top of the shell to cause steam to travel toward the front of the shell and escape it, the forward portion of the closure being provided with an upstanding stack opening through the said closure.

JOSEPH SMITH FRANKLIN. LESLIE R. GILMORE. 

